Page 24 of A Little Too Forward

“You sure you need to go? We could order dinner. Maybe catch the Vancouver game?”

“Honestly, I’m too tired to wait for a West Coast game tonight. Thanks for the offer though. I had a surprisingly good time tonight.”

“Even if it did start with a bang.”

“Yeah, even still. Have a good night, Max. I’m sure I’ll be seeing you soon.”

She’s out the door after that last parting remark.

“You’ll be hearing from me even sooner,” I tell the closed door.

Now that I have a toe back in Sabrina’s good graces, there’s no stopping me now. She thinks our relationship is going to stay professional…I have other plans.

CHAPTER TWELVE

SABRINA

Looking over at my phone, I see the screen flash MAX before it goes dark again. With an exaggerated groan, I press my head back into the sofa cushions and silently curse. This man is going to annoy me to death.

Whose bright idea was it to give him my number?

Ever since our little heart-to-heart, come-to-Jesus moment last week, he’s been reaching out at least once a day. At first, it was just a quickhello,how’s it goingtype of check-in. Like a sucker, I thought it was a nice gesture and texted back. We were friendly again, trying to be civil adults and build a working relationship. Responding was the normal thing to do.

That unleashed the texting beast.

Now, I get texts from him constantly throughout the day. Videos and voice memos too. Every time I open one of my social apps, I look for messages from him. He’s constantly on my mind, and it’s a weird feeling.

And damn, I wish I could ignore the messages. I wish I could just send him an emoji in acknowledgment and that be it, but the son of a bitch is using his knowledge of me against me. He knows which topics I can’t resist.

Wiping the salty crumbs of the chips I was eating on my leggings, I reach for my cell. I click into his text, and my eyes widen at the image he’s sent.

Oh my God, that thing has to be at least a foot long, glistening and dripping with juice as Max’s hand holds it firm. It’s almost too big for his hand to clutch securely.

That is one big wiener.

MAX:Cheat day snack. Why are the best hot dogs in Winnipeg?

SABRINA:A foot-long hot dog is a snack to you! Oh, to have your metabolism.

SABRINA:And I have no idea why they’re the best. They just are. Maybe it has something to do with the cold?

MAX:Definitely not the cold. Nothing compares to Calgary cold.

That is accurate. Last time I was in Calgary reporting on a Juniors game, I swear I almost lost a toe. It was so cold.

MAX:My metabolism is on point, but I’ll pay for this indulgence in the gym tomorrow. The team trainer is eyeing me right now and not impressed with my protein snack choice.

SABRINA:You scored two goals last night and clinched the game with your last assist. I think the trainer can cool it on his judgy eyes.

MAX:Aww, you watched, Bean? You truly are obsessed with your best friend.

There is absolutely no way I’m going to tell him that I watched the Toronto Nighthawks game last night because of him. Watching sports is part of my job. Only I know that my eyes followed him like a hawk, and I found myself watching him instead of the action of the game. That is a secret I’ll die to protect.

SABRINA:It’s my job, idiot. I have to watch hockey games in order to report on them.

After I press Send, I instantly want to take it back. I’m in between reporting jobs right now. He knows this and has every right to catch me in my lie.

But he doesn’t.

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